Hardware Guide 24:Storage Medium for the Wii

As you already know by now, the Wii will not include a hard disk and neither will it play your DVDs nor music CDs. So, how do you go about solving these problems? Simple. Powerplay provides you with some affordable solutions.

::: Memory Cards :::

For a storage medium, the Wii has 512MB of internal memory. Obviously, it is not enough for you to store anything much. That is where the SD card slot hidden away in the front compartment of the Wii comes in, but wait, there is more. Slide open the cover at the top of the Wii and you see another pair of memory card slots, as well as four GameCube controller ports. Great, now you have 3 memory card slots, but buying 3 memory cards will certainly burn a big hole in your pocket. The biggest SD card capacity available in the market now is 4GB. Look over to the next solution.

::: Card Readers :::

What if the Wii does not accept your memory card format? Since there is a pair of USB ports behind the Wii, it is possible for you to attach a third-party card reader. 7-in-1 and 5-in-1 card readers are readily available in the market right now, and what’s more, you can have more memory card slots, but with each of them accepting a different card format. However, card readers do not come cheap either. If your budget does not allow it, look over to the next solution.

::: Thumbdrives/Flashdrives :::

Being compact and portable, getting a thumbdrive or flashdrive may be a great idea. A 16GB flashdrive was recently unveiled at the Cebit exhibition, but you know it: It is going to be expensive and by the way, why can’t I find it in the stores? Rest assured other options are available. You can get drives with capacities of 128MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and even 6GB! These drives are generally low-cost. Recent ones like those from SanDisk are even getting more fashionable with fancy metal casings and futuristic designs. Considering that the old Xbox did well with only 5GB of memory, a 6GB drive will suffice. Mind the price for the ones with higher storage capacities, though. Get the one that is right for you.

::: External Hard Drives :::

If you are still not content with less than 10GB of storage, there is another solution – just right for you. Get an external hard drive – the ones that you use when your computer runs out of internal memory. The storage capacities of external hard drives usually range from a small 40GB to a whopping 650GB. Of course, the higher you go, the pricier the machine becomes, and so the larger, but the size of external hard drives are shrinking by the day. Get one 7200 revolutions per minute (rpm) external hard drive for optimal performance. Indeed, the 2 USB ports at the back of the Wii have opened up many new possibilities. Fancy using an unused MP3 player for storage? You can, but really, it looks weird.

**********************************

What if you suddenly feel like playing that DVD, VCD or music CD on the table. No, the Wii does not have the ability to play them, but you can make it happen. Although there are words that Nintendo will offer a DVD playback option for the Wii (like the Xbox DVD Kit), there is currently no official news about it yet. Cross your fingers that it will release.